In many regions of the world, yield levels of agricultural products invariably decline over production time. A clear example is when virgin land is first used for the cultivation of crops. Soil nutrients and soil organic matter will be at a high level and initial crops will need little or no external inputs of fertilizers. However, the levels in the soil will decline rapidly over succeeding growing seasons and they will be kept at a steady level at an increasing cost of inputs and to the detriment of the environmental resources. The sustainability challenge is therefore to select agronomic factors that are of benefit to the environment so as to reduce the degradation of the environment.

Importance of Quality Products in Agriculture
The lesson looks at quality factors in various agricultural products. In some cases the quality factors are specified by a standards control body which in Kenya is the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). However, consumers are able to judge the quality of products on the basis of factors such as appearance, color, taste, size and shape.

Value Factors (20 Minutes)

Work in groups of four and complete table 1 based on your discussions.

1. From the list of products in Table 1 identify the ideal quality factors and insert them in the slots in column 2.
2. Fill in the reality of the quality status in your region in column 3.
3. What do you believe are the constraining quality factors? Insert these into column 4.